Dispensing guide

ABSTRACT

A dispensing guide for seasoning such as herbs and spices takes the form of a dispensing chute defined by a broad and elongate tongue, the sides of which curl in an arc. The tongue has two resilient arms extending from a base portion of the chute which, together with the curved sides of the tongue, form a semi-circular ring that fits around and secures to a dispensing end of a seasoning dispenser in use. The guide in use prevents steam, moisture or heat from entering the dispensing end of the seasoning dispenser.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of co-pending South AfricanPatent Application No. ZA2012/01880, filed Mar. 14, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a dispensing guide which is used with or formspart of a dispenser bottle, e.g. an herb or spice bottle. The inventionmay further extend to a dispenser lid with which the dispensing guide isintegral.

Spices and dried herbs are typically sold in and dispensed from adispenser bottle with a closeable cap including a sifter lid. In an openposition of the cap wherein the sifter lid is exposed, spices and driedherbs can be dispensed from multiple apertures defined in the sifterlid.

Herbs and spices are typically dispensed into dishes while the dishesare still being cooked. A cook may merely sift or sprinkle the herbs orspices directly into a dish. One of the drawbacks of known sifter lidsor other types of lids comprising apertures for sprinkling herbs, spicesor the like onto food is that the moisture, heat and/or steam escapingfrom food while being cooked may clog up the apertures over time,thereby making the dispensing of the herbs or spices difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to address this shortcoming.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided adispensing guide comprising a dispensing chute defined by a broad andelongate tongue, the sides of which curl in an arc, and two resilientarms, extending from a base portion of the chute and which, togetherwith the curvature of the sides of the tongue, form a semi-circular ringthat fits around and secures to a dispensing end of a particulate matterdispenser in use, wherein the dispensing chute in use prevents steam,moisture or heat from entering the dispensing end of the particulatematter dispenser.

Preferably, the tongue has a semi-circular cross-section that in usefits around, e.g., approximately three quarters, the circumference ofthe dispensing end of the dispenser.

The dispensing guide may be manufactured from a plastics or similarmaterial.

Typically, the dispensing end of a particulate matter dispenser is a lidor cap secured to the dispenser, preferably a sifter or sprinkler lidcomprising multiple apertures to dispense the particulate matter.

The particulate matter dispenser may be a dispensing bottle for herbs orspices.

The base portion of the chute and the arms define an internal stepformation that fits into a complemental step formation defined in a lidof the dispenser.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided adispenser lid comprising securing means configured to secure the lid toa dispensing end of a particulate matter dispenser, a sifter portiondefining one or more apertures to dispense particulate matter from thedispenser in use, and a dispensing chute extending from and integrallyformed with a side wall of the lid, the dispensing chute being definedby a broad and elongate tongue the sides of which curl in an arc,wherein the dispensing chute in use prevents steam, moisture or heatfrom entering the dispensing end of the particulate matter dispenser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a dispensing guide in accordance with the present inventionas secured around the end of a particulate matter dispenser;

FIG. 2 a shows a perspective view of the dispensing guide of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2 b shows a cross-section of the dispensing guide of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a dispensingguide in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 b shows a cross-section of the dispensing guide of FIG. 3 a; and

FIG. 4 shows a dispenser lid in accordance with a further aspect of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Turning to FIGS. 1 to 2 b, a dispensing guide is generally indicated byreference numeral 10. The dispensing guide 10 fits around the outerperimeter of a dispensing end of a particulate matter dispenser, shownin FIG. 1 as a dispenser bottle 12. The dispenser bottle 12 is typicallyfilled with particulate matter, such as seasoning, spices, dried herbsor the like. The dispensing guide 10 is usually arranged to fit snuglyand be secured around a lid 14, such as a sifter or sprinkler lid, ofthe dispenser bottle 12.

In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the lid 14 defines multipleapertures 16 in a sifter lid 18, the apertures in use dispensing,typically sprinkling or sifting, the particulate matter from the bottle12.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, the dispensing guide 10 comprises adispensing chute 20 defined by a broad and elongate tongue 22, the sides24 of which curl in an arc. In use, the tongue 22 lies co-planar withthe side of the bottle 12. The tongue 22 may further be narrowed towardsits outer end, thereby to assist in dispensing herbs or spices also fromthe sides 24 of the tongue 22. The dispensing chute 20 extends in usefar beyond the end of the bottle 12 to cover the sifter lid 18 when thebottle 12 is held in a horizontal position to dispense the seasoning,herbs or spices. In particular, the dispensing chute 20 prohibits theingress of steam, heat or moisture into the bottle 12 which may causethe apertures 16 of the lid 18 to clog up with particulate matter heldin the bottle.

Extending from a base portion 26 of the chute 20 are two arms 28, which,with the curvature of the sides 24 of the tongue 22, form asemi-circular ring that fits around the lid 14 of the bottle 12. Thearms 28 are resilient in order to enable them to be drawn away from eachother thereby to fit the dispensing guide 10 around the bottle end.

The tongue 22 with the arms 28 typically has a semi-circularcross-section that in use fits around a portion of the circumference ofthe lid 14 of the bottle 12. In some instances, the tongue portion maybe approximately three quarters to one half of the circumference of thelid 14 thereby to ensure that the apertures 16 of the sifter lid 18 aresufficiently covered.

The dispensing guide 10 is manufactured from a plastics material or anyother suitable material.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 a and 3 b, a second embodiment of the dispensingguide is generally indicated by reference numeral 30. This guide 30 alsocomprises a broad and elongate tongue 32, the sides 34 of which curl inan arc. From a base portion 36 of the tongue 32 two resilient arms 40extend, with the base portion 36 and sides 34 of the tongue 32, as wellas the arms 40 forming a semi-circular ring that fits around and securesto a lid of a particulate matter dispenser in use. The tongue 32 whicheffectively forms a dispensing chute, prevents steam, heat or moisturefrom entering apertures defined in the lid of the dispenser.

In this embodiment, the base portion 36 of the tongue 32 or chute, andoptionally the arms, define an internal step formation 40 that fits intoa step formation defined in the lid of the dispenser or that fits overthe end of the lid. This ensures a tighter fit between the dispensingguide 30 and the lid of the bottle.

FIG. 4 shows a further aspect of the invention where the dispensingguide is integral with the lid of a particulate matter dispenser, suchas a bottle for dispensing spices or herbs. A dispenser lid 40 comprisessecuring means (not shown) configured to secure the lid 40 to adispensing end (i.e., open end) of a particulate matter dispenser, shownas sectioned bottle 42. In this example embodiment, the lid 40 definesan internal thread that engages a thread 44 defined on the outerperimeter of the bottle 42 thereby to secure the lid 40 to the bottle42. It will be appreciated that different securing means could be usedin other embodiments.

A sifter portion 46 defines one or more apertures 48 to dispenseparticulate matter from the bottle in use. Similar to the embodiments ofFIGS. 1 to 3 b, a dispensing chute 50 extends from and is integrallyformed with a side wall of the lid 40. The dispensing chute 50 isdefined by a broad and elongate tongue 52, the sides 54 of which curl inan arc. The chute 50 in use prohibits steam, moisture or heat fromentering the bottle 42, in particular when the bottle 42 is heldhorizontal to dispense its contents over a dish that is being cooked.

In all the above embodiments, the contents of the dispenser or bottle isfirst dispensed onto the chute, and then sprinkled over the dish to beseasoned. The chute of the dispensing guide thus protects the contentsfrom rising moisture, thereby ensuring that the sprinkler or sifter lidor portion does not clog up. Additionally, the chute of the dispensingguide or lid assists in ensuring that the food is not over-seasoned, asthe seasoning, herbs or spices will first be dispensed onto the chute,leaving the user with the option to discard at least some of theseasoning.

I claim:
 1. A dispensing guide comprising a dispensing chute defined bya broad and elongate tongue, the sides of which curl in an arc, and tworesilient arms extending from a base portion of the chute and which,together with the curved sides of the tongue, form a semi-circular ringthat fits around and secures to a dispensing end of a particulate matterdispenser in use, wherein the dispensing chute in use prevents steam,moisture or heat from entering the dispensing end of the particulatematter dispenser.
 2. The dispensing guide of claim 1 wherein the tonguehas a semi-circular cross-section that in use fits around thecircumference of the dispensing end of the dispenser.
 3. The dispensingguide of claim 2 wherein the tongue extends around approximately threequarters of the circumference of the dispensing end of the dispenser. 4.The dispensing guide of claim 1 which is manufactured from a plasticsmaterial.
 5. The dispensing guide of claim 1 wherein the dispensing endof said particulate matter dispenser is a sifter or sprinkler lidsecured to the dispenser and comprising multiple apertures to dispensethe particulate matter.
 6. The dispensing guide of claim 1 wherein theparticulate matter dispenser is a dispensing bottle for seasoning, herbsor spices.
 7. The dispensing guide of claim 1 wherein the base portionof the chute and the arms define an internal step formation that fitsinto a complemental step formation defined in a lid of the dispenser. 8.A dispenser lid comprising securing means configured to secure the lidto a dispensing end of a particulate matter dispenser, a sifter portiondefining one or more apertures to dispense particulate matter from thedispenser in use, and a dispensing chute extending from and integrallyformed with a side wall of the lid, the dispensing chute being definedby a broad and elongate tongue the sides of which curl in an arc,wherein the dispensing chute in use prevents steam, moisture or heatfrom entering the dispensing end of the particulate matter dispenser.